Rescue
by DannyBoy2k
Summary: The cat needs someone rescued. Phys Ad Alex O'Hara can't turn away.


**RESCUE**

* * *

The Physical Adept stood poised above the slow moving flow of the sewer, on the third rung of the ladder which led to the manhole cover. He blessed the unknown designer of the Mark X rebreather mask, which kept him from breathing the noxious miasma of sewer gas, and while maintaining his perch above the flow began shucking the yellow chem suit he had used to make his way through the Newark sewers. The four foot long mini-duffel which he held in the same hand as the ladder rung contained his short staff, cloak and other necessities for the night's activities. Dropping the chem suit with its built in boots into the slow moving flow, he revealed his sneak suit . When he slipped on the neoprene non-skid soled black shoes from the bag, his outfit was complete and he prepared for the next portion of his plan.

He heard the big Mitsubishi Nightsky limo pull in overhead and climbed the ladder. Lifting the manhole cover out of the way, he slipped his crystal bladed combat knife out of its ceramic lined sheath and began cutting through the bottom of the car's trunk. The knife, called a Sten blade, was formed of a single crystal grown in the zero-g environment of the orbital platforms. Only 17 molecules thick at its edge, the blade punched through the bottom of the trunk's wheel well. He patiently sawed through the metal, cutting through the spare tires as he opened a gap large enough for him to remove the spare's rims. As he worked he said a small prayer that Jay Calabrese did not rush his regular meal of calamari and that the security force that remained with the car did not hear or sense his activity.

When he was satisfied that the whole was large enough he pulled the tattered remains of both spare tires out and dropped them into the open manhole. All of his moves were extremely slow and deliberate to keep the vehicles occupants from feeling a shift and suspecting they were taking on an additional passenger. He placed the short staff above the car's exhaust and began to ease himself feet first into the wheel well. He folded his tall, broad shouldered frame into the sub-trunk where the limo's spares were kept, knowing that to find him, one would have to open and empty the trunk and then remove the trunk's carpeting. When he had tucked his bag and most of his torso into the small space he used one arm to push the manhole cover back into position. He then continued to fold himself into the cramped quarters, pulling the cut away piece of trunk floor in after him. As he lay in the awkward position he thought about how he had gotten here.

* * *

Felix, a female Troll fixer, one of the top facilitators in the city, had been desperately trying to get him to work for her for some time. She was very flattering whenever she proposed a job, always insisting that the competence and style he brought to his work was exactly what she wanted to offer her clients. He had resisted her entreaties, but eventually had relented enough to offer her his help if she ever needed it personally. When she had called, claiming she needed to see him immediately, he at first had suspected that he was going to have to sit through the usual song and dance. When he arrived at Magilicutty's and was escorted to the private back room without even a cursory weapon inspection he began to suspect that this was not business as usual.

The Troll was in an agitated state and her companion, the beautiful elven woman named Jeanie had obviously been weeping. The two women were a study in contrasts. Felix was huge and, frankly, ugly. She stood nearly 7 feet tall, had a lumpy body covered with warts and bone growths. Jeanie was shapely and, frankly, a knock-out. Her flawless dark skin, lavender eyes, dazzling smile and long white hair topped a body that bio-sculptors used as an ideal model. The two women thanked him for coming.

"I'll cut right to it", said Felix. "You said I could call you if I needed help. Well I need it. You made that trip to Newark a little while ago and now I've got...we've got a problem there."

"It's my brother, Graham" interrupted the elf. "He lives there. He's in trouble. I don't know who I can turn to... Felix knows a fixer there, but we don't know the people and they say the job's impossible and..." as Jeanie broke down sobbing, Felix patted her gently and turned to fill in the details.

"Graham's in trouble. He pissed off some faction of the 'family' and got grabbed. I worked through Gom in Newark and offered to buy the boy's freedom, whatever it cost, but no deal. Then I had Gom put together a team for an extraction. He got some top people but when they looked it over, the only thing they could come up with had a better than average chance of getting him geeked. The slot who grabbed him's got a security layout like your buddy Pym. (Gom told me how tough that set up was and he raves about how slick you were at getting through it.) Anyway, the team that looked it over did a lot of scouting but couldn't figure a way in and out that didn't look too dangerous. The fragger who has the kid is aware he's been looked at and says he's going to ice the kid at high noon, day after tomorrow." Felix leaned in and whispered, "Says he's going to castrate and impale the kid."

Jeanie spoke up asking, "Please, please save him. He's the only family that I have left. I know he's not perfect but he should have a chance to change. Doesn't everybody deserve a chance to change?"

"Jeanie, I have to tell him the whole story, honey", Felix said softly. "He has to know before he decides to risk his life to save Graham, Ok?"

The sobbing elf woman nodded while looking pleadingly at the Phys Ad.

"Graham...uh...well, he's gay and he likes younger boys,... very young. He makes chips..."

"You're telling me he makes Kiddy porn."

"Uh...yes, but like Jeanie says, he could change and if he doesn't get a chance..." Felix's voice trailed off.

"So, what's the rest of it? Why was he grabbed?"

"The 'Family' guy, named Jay Calabrese, has his fingers in dozens of things, Porn, BTL's, psycho-actives, prostitution, extortion. He's expanding and decided to eliminate the competition. He had to get approval from some Mafia council, which is why Graham's still alive, but who's going to tell him that he can't rub out a ..." looking at Jeanie sobbing form, "Felix concluded ...somebody in that business?"

After agonizing for half an hour over the karmic and moral implications of helping and turning his back, he had taken the job. He was all business as he said "Alex O'Hara will bring Graham back here. You're going to have to get him psyche help. I mean cure him of his desire for people who aren't old enough to make choices about sex. That's going to be expensive and difficult. Felix, you willing to do that?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. One other thing, you get all of the data you can from Gom. I'm talking everything. You let him know that your agent, Alex O'Hara, is to be given Carte Blanche on whatever he asks for and that you're picking up the tab. Tell him Alex doesn't work with women so he'll have to use somebody other than ...no, just tell him that Alex doesn't work with women. He needs a middle-man. Have your people make me an O'Hara ID and get me to Newark." The fixer then understood that not only was Owen taking the job but that he was creating another identity to do it.

Then he had knelt down next to Jeanie and holding her hand said softly "I've done much worse stuff then your brother's ever dreamt of. Stuff that I will not be able to atone for if I live to be 1000. But people can change. Remember that. Your brother has a chance as long as he has your love."

An hour later he was on a flight to Newark pouring over data chips of info about Jay Calabrese, his home, his habits, friends, enemies everything that a very competent shadow-team and fixer had been able to put together on the target. All of the data pointed to Calabrese keeping Graham at his home until he got Council approval for the hit. The home was very well protected and Alex, as he now thought of himself, agreed with the assessment that said any direct attack would involve casualties including Graham. He was still considering other possibilities when the plane touched down at Newark International Airport.

While negotiating his way through the crowds in the airport, Alex got the idea for his approach through the sewers. Since Calabrese had some regular habits, he might be vulnerable to attack from below. He called Gom, identified himself and outlined his equipment needs. He had his own weapons and stealth suit but needed some special equipment which he arranged to pick up. He also made arrangements for several possible escape plans, as well as some maps of the sewer system.

* * *

As the Limo stopped in the gravel drive before the palatial estate, Alex felt Calabrese and his body guards exit the vehicle. As soon as the car was empty, it pulled into the huge underground garage alongside the house and the car's trunk was opened. Alex heard snatches of conversation as packages were taken out of the trunk. When the garage was dark and empty, he made his way out of the wheel well, collecting his short staff as he crawled out from under the limo. He immediately began some yoga stretching exercises as he didn't want any cramps or spasms as he attempted to carry out this extraction . When he was ready to move out, he placed the rebreather in the bag, which he slung from one shoulder, after pulling on his cloak. He checked his web belt to make sure all of his tools and weapons were in place before moving out. His Zeiss lo-light sunglasses illuminated the darkened garage enough for him to recognize the vehicles held in the cavernous room. He spent 20 minutes disabling all of them except for two of the motorcycles, against his need for an escape without pursuit. He considered disabling the Citymaster, thinking _What the hell does a wiseguy need with an urban assault vehicle for, for cryin out loud? This Calabrese slot waiting for World War III or what?_ He rejected the idea of disabling the Citymaster, thinking _If I get Graham out of here on a bike, how closely is anybody gonna follow in that boat? Better to get on with the job._

Moving from shadow to shadow, Alex made his way through the access passage that connected the garage to the house. He entered below the ground floor, which was ok as he guessed that if the place had a dungeon for prisoners it would probably be underneath everything else. When he got to an area of unpainted cinder block, he figured he was getting close. Alex had avoided any contact with security personnel as he wanted this job to be over before anyone realized it had happened. After ducking into a utility closet to avoid a rolling drone, Alex found the communal cell that held four prisoners. _FOUR Prisoners? What the frag is this deal? I recognize Graham, he's the only male in there. But who are these ladies and what the frag am I supposed to do with them. What is this Calabrese slot, some sort of Mafia jailer? DREK! I don't need this._

Alex signaled for the prisoners to ignore him and studied the cell door. The prisoners, who were excited and curious, were also quick enough on the uptake to resume their conversation as though nothing had happened. It would be child's play to pick the lock and open the door, but he saw the contact embedded in the cement ceiling which would tell security whenever this door was opened. He pulled out the ceramic tube with the rings sticking out of each end cap. He unscrewed the tube and drew out a length of monowire, put the rings on the fingers of each hand and began quickly sawing through the bars near the floor level. When he had cut through the bottom of four bars, he moved up two feet and continued his sawing. He removed the four bars and signaled all of the prisoners out. The young lady in the mage mask, of course, did not see his signal and as he was about to enter the cell to get her, he heard the whine of the drone's electric motor as it rolled back up the hall.

He quickly ushered everyone back into the cell, handing Graham and the blonde norm woman the bars. Without a word he signaled them to hold the bars in place and then disappeared under the cells' bed. When the drone had passed he removed the Asian norm's mage mask and while he freed her fingers he whispered in English and then in Japanese: "Rescue. No Magic. Silence." As he exited the cell through the gap in the bars, he signaled everyone to wait and applied super epoxy to the ends of the severed bars. When he set them back in place all of the prisoners smiled at the mystery they would leave behind. Alex led the group to his utility closet-hideout and began whispering,

"I'm Alex O'Hara. Graham, your sister sent me to get you out. Who are you?"

The blonde norm who looked to be about 16 whispered "I'm Angie Lucchese. My papa will pay you whatever you ask if you take me home."

The Asian norm with magic ability looked to be about 19. "She said I am Aki. My father will also pay for my release, however a ritual sample was taken from me and if I return to my family without it, I fear I will be used as a weapon against my clan."

The Ork female who looked liked she had recently been severely beaten said, "I'm Mary. I'm a nobody who tried to step in when they grabbed Angie. They kicked the drek outta me for makin' life difficult. I think they took a sample from me too. "

Graham nodded that he had donated a sample and finally Angie admitted, "Yeah, they took a sample but I still want to go home. Please don't leave us here."

"Nobody's going to be left here. I promise. Now Mary, is that a rigger's jack?" When the Ork nodded he said, "Great. There is a Citymaster in the garage. I'm going to lead you guys there. I want you to jack in and start the independent air system. I'm going to go looking for your samples. Lock the doors, don't make any noise. When I've got them I'll knock 1-4-2-3. Don't let anybody else in. Ok? Single file, put both hands on the shoulder of the person in front of you. Now, close your eyes, be completely quiet and follow me. I'll get you out of here."

When Alex had moved the prisoners to the Citymaster he re-entered the house. He drew his Goren Bee, a custom made pistol which resembled a silenced High Standard 22 of the previous century, but which functioned exactly like the Ares Supersquirt II.

While in the first sub-basement he found a guard entering a room with an elaborate lock on the door. The good news was that Alex shot him with his DMSO/Elephant Tranq cocktail before he was seen. The bad news was that the unconscious guard fell into the occupied room, which happened to be the security nerve center for the mansion. The alarm sounded but Alex was able to put everyone in the room to sleep and immediately turn the alarm back off. Thinking quickly he turned on the PA system and announced an unscheduled security drill. Treat this alarm as actual. All units maintain station and report in by the numbers. As he placed tranq patches on the magic user and security rigger he began getting the radio calls which identified each guard by his location. When the phone rang, he lifted the receiver and said loudly into the radio, "Station 17, that is not proper procedure, wait one." Putting the phone to his ear he said Security

"This is Mr. Calabrese, what was that alarm?"

"Sir, that was a security alertness drill. I can discuss it with you in a few minutes but right now I'm trying to get reports, hold on...17 get off the channel. You're on report. Station 8, wait one...Sir, were kind of busy down here..."

"Uh...Ok, uh good job. Get back to it."

"Yes sir...8, go ahead."

click

Alex continued to take reports as he studied the security layout for the building. When he isolated the most likely storage area for the ritual samples he began plotting a way to get to them. He pulled the master key card from the vault in the security center and as he changed the access numbers for the door locks, he thought _How stupid is it to put the master key card for the system in a vault and then have the key to that vault in the pocket of the chief on duty? Not the way I would do it, but I'm betting my time is just about up._ He locked down the security computer with a random string of numbers and letters and then left. As he was leaving, he pulled on his rebreather and opened the valve on the canister of sleep gas in his duffel. The ideal method for distributing the gas would have been to pump it through the ventilating system for the building _But hell,_ he thought, _this run is about as far from ideal as you can get anyway, so why start doing things right at this late stage._

Alex dodged out of the now inaccessible nerve center 42 seconds before a hard eyed man with a crewcut and lantern jaw started pounding on the door. E. S. Glacken waited exactly 6 seconds before pushing his own alarm button. Grinding his teeth in frustration he began to shout over his comm link "THIS IS NO FRAGGIN DRILL, YOU FRAGGIN MORONS! WE'VE BEEN FRAGGIN COMPROMISED! I'LL KILL THE HOOP WHO LET THESE ...COcksuc... GET ...AWayyy...looooocckkk ...ittttt..." and fell over unconscious.

Moving at speed with the only magcard that could open or lock doors, Alex was able to knock out half a dozen guards by the time he arrived at the third floor. He dropped the now empty canister of sleep agent and turned to find himself facing a cybered troll with both an air filter and an attitude. The troll was swinging a very broad, heavy, curved, single edged blade about 14 inches long in each hand. As Alex dodged backwards and thrust his staff into the giant's solar plexus he thought _Moplah Knives? What the hell is this slot in Newark New Jersey doing with the Ayda Katti of Malabar? He's awful big for a Coorg. Couple of centuries too late as well._ When the troll hesitated as the impact point knocked the wind out of him, Alex shot him with the Goren Bee. The troll's look of disgust and anger slipped from his face as consciousness slipped from his body. Alex thought _Sorry, I don't have time to play. I haven't dueled with those things in ages, but right now I've got some work to do. Maybe another time._

He'd holstered the pistol and was running the magcard through the reader when a pair of orks leaped out of a doorway directly behind Alex. As the first began unloading a scorpion machine pistol on full auto, the second drew back a katana. Alex threw himself flat to the floor, kicking out with both legs, hard into the shins of his attackers. Both razors started to fall forward as Alex gathered himself and jumped back up. He rapped each of his attackers across the back of the neck with his staff. He opened the door only to have the staff plucked away by an invisible gust of wind. _An Air elemental, Alex recognized._ He screamed a KAI-AI and immediately launched himself at the elemental with a Mikazuki-geri (crescent kick) followed by a Haito-uchi (sword hand thrust). The elemental slashed at Alex's chest, but he immediately struck back with Quan-bian Jiao and Xailai Jiao kicks. The Wushu moves of a high front kick up followed immediately by a fast descending kick down seemed to stun the elemental and Alex followed with a straight left jab, an overhand right, an Empi-uchi elbow strike and an Eido-tsuki front punch. As the spirit lost its manifest form O'Hara knew it had more to do with the purity and intention behind the blows than any actual damage from the attacks. He retrieved his staff and went over to the safe.

The safe was very old and he knew his magnetic key card would not get him into this box. The safe was so old that it did not even have an alpha numeric keypad, just an old spinning dial with numbers on it. Alex thought back for a moment and remembered something he had seen in an old flatscreen vid. He pushed the tip of the Sten blade behind the dial and began easing it down. He was shaving metal slivers off the door itself, but when the blade was in far enough, the dial popped off. He then started pushing the blade straight into the door at the center of the dial's hub. When he had pushed all 10 inches of the blade in he heard a clank and turned the door's handle. Another alarm siren joined the cacophony that had been sounding for the past several minutes, but the door opened. Inside, in a dry ice cooler, he found small plastic cases marked Mary Dahl, Angela Lucchese, Aki Tano and Graham . He piled the cases into his duffel and began retracing his steps.

* * *

When Alex boarded the Citymaster, Mary was ready to make a run for it. Alex said wait and then tapped out a code on his wrist com. The group involuntarily ducked as almost immediately they heard the explosions of mortar fire peppering the estate. This barrage lasted 30 seconds before Alex yelled "GO!" and by the time the vehicle had passed the garage door the explosions had stopped. In the 20 seconds of calm that followed the end of mortar rounds being walked across the estate, the Citymaster had reached the shattered front gates and were out into the street. Now, mortar attacks are not common in Newark and mortar attacks on the estate of a made-man, a lieutenant of stature in the family , are extremely unlikely to go unnoticed. As Lonestar emergency response teams began converging on Don Calabrese's palatial estate, Mary drove the Citymaster into the Secaucus swamp.

The marshland north of Newark and East of lower Manhattan had always been a smugglers paradise. Mary found a trail which led to an abandoned natural gas storage facility which was nightly used as a transfer point. Alex, playing the situation on the fly, decided that he wanted some kind of neutral ground while he returned the young ladies to their parents. With the girls' help he called both leaders simultaneously. He activated the vid screen so that both girls could be seen.

"Gentlemen," he said, "While retrieving some property for my employer, I discovered these young ladies. I'd like to arrange to return them to you, but I foresee two difficulties. One, each of these young ladies have been captive long enough to have had anything from implanted explosives to hypnotic or magical compulsions placed on them to kill you. I haven't seen anything to indicate this, but I will admit freely that I wouldn't know the warning signs if I saw them. I do know that both ladies had ritual samples taken from them and I can only surmise that it was in preparation for using them as magical weapons against you. I have retrieved the samples, I think, but I don't know if they were the only samples taken. Difficulty two, although caution dictates that you send a trusted subordinate to retrieve your daughters and keep them at arms length until you determine they are safe, I am less than sanguine about turning your children over to anyone but their immediate family, times being what they are. Can either of you suggest an alternative?"

Jiro Tano said, "I will retrieve my daughter, myself. Tell me where I must go and how much I must bring."

Paul Lucchese said "I thought you were leaving town."

"Sir, I did leave. My employer's assignment drew me back, but I will not be staying. What disposition should I make with your daughter?"

"I'll come get her myself. What do you want for her return?"

"Gentlemen, I do not want anything. I do not sell abducted children back to their parents. That you would attribute such behavior to me does no honor to any of us. As to the question of where I am, let's be adult, shall we? You both not only have this broadcast point located, you have probably already dispatched assets to the area. Of greater interest, it would seem to me, would be who took your children in the first place. Since neither of you asked, I'll assume that you don't believe my account and I'll let your daughters speak to it. Aki..."

"Father I was abducted by Kenjo Asai and given to Jay Calabrese. They bound me and put a mage mask on me and...I..." After taking a few seconds to compose herself, the young girl continued. "Alex freed us and then went back to get the samples."

"It's true papa," added Angie, "The fat pig told me he was going to 'find me' after I had been raped by the Yaks. I'd be given drugs to keep me from remembering about him and when you went to war with them he said he'd wait for whoever survived. He said he'd have an ace in the hole whichever side one. Alex didn't even come for us, but he got us out. He freed us before he even asked who we were. Papa, when they grabbed me, this Ork lady named Mary tried to stop them. She didn't know who I was or anything and they beat her up and took her too. She's very brave. "

Alex then said "Gentlemen, since you obviously have other things to do, I suggest you hurry and come get your daughters. Be seeing you."

click

Within 15 minutes four black limousines pulled up. Before the occupant of the last got out of the vehicle, 2 attack choppers and a Hughes air Stallion landed. Both fathers, each with a four man protective detail approached the Citymaster. Alex stepped out of the vehicle and led the group to a culvert where all of the freed hostages waited.

"What's this?" asked Paulie over the noise of the slowing rotor blades in the background.

Alex leaned back towards the parents and said, "Since I don't trust anybody, I figured they would be safer here if anybody decided to toss a missile at the vehicle. Wouldn't do to lose them to stupidity at this point."

As the two fathers embraced their daughters and had them bundled off to their respective rides home, each signaled that they needed to talk with Alex. He invited the mobsters into the Citymaster.

Don Lucchese opened the discussion by sticking out his hand. When Alex shook it, Paul said, "Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. I don't want to insult you but I'd like to do something for you. You demonstrate that you are a man of honor and principle and I would like to show my appreciation'. What can I do?"

As Alex chuckled at hearing his own words parroted back to him, Jiro Tano bowed deeply. "I also wish to demonstrate my gratitude. Without insulting you, how may I pay the debt I owe you for returning that which is most precious in my life?"

After thinking for a moment of both Master Fuchard's warning about unpaid debts becoming a bitter burden of responsibility and the reason why he was in Newark in the first place, he said "To clear the way between us will be difficult, unpopular and very expensive. If you wish to repay me, get out of child pornography and jointly set up a foundation to treat the predators who victimize the young." The indignant reactions on the father's faces was forestalled when Alex said "I know, I know, neither of you would personally get your hands dirty with that filth, it is unthinkable, infamous, etc., but gentlemen, you both are part of organizations that have always profited from that lucrative trade. Look into your hearts and tell yourself that your 'companies' have no connection with kiddy porn. We all know that there is too much money in the industry to be ignored. You asked me what you could do. I've told you. You will have to fight a lot of pressure from your own organizations but it is the only thing that you can do to 'pay' me. Measure your own honor by how well you accomplish what I request. And consider this: how great a leap is it from viewing children as sexual objects to seeing them as pawns to be used in the power games that adults play? Weren't your own daughters victims of a form of child pornography?...Don Lucchese, Tano-sama, good evening."

The two mob bosses were silent as they walked back to their vehicles. As they left, Alex hoped it was the silence of men considering ways to do what he had asked. He signaled Mary and Graham back to the vehicle and when the Ork had jacked in, asked to be driven to the airport. He called Gom and told him to have the charter jet ready to go. He was told the jet could leave in an hour and that his clothes were being held at the charter airlines terminal.

* * *

When they arrived at the airport, Alex said to Mary: "I guess this truck is yours. I can't pack it up and it seems like you should get something for being slapped around. If you want to sell it or if you need something, you should go to Vailsburg and speak to Don Lucchese. Because you tried to help his daughter I'm sure he'll do anything he can to help you. It's been a pleasure meeting you. Luck!" and trotted off to the charter flight's lounge with Graham. The Ork woman was stunned by Alex's generosity but before she could even say 'thank you' he was gone. As she considered following him, the airhorn of the semi that had pulled up behind her forced her back onto the road.

Before changing into his suit, Alex pulled Graham aside and talked quietly and intensely to him, "Look, I don't know you and I'm not judging you. I'm telling you what is going to happen. You are gonna come with me so you can say thank you to your sister and to Felix for saving your hoop. You will get treatment. I don't care about what you want or what you think you need or what your rights are. If you go to treatment, you live, if you don't, you die. Look into my eyes and tell me if you have any doubts." When the elf shook his head a few seconds later, indicating that there was no doubt that his life had just been threatened, Alex said "Good. Remember that. It ain't fair and it ain't equitable but it's definitely true. I'm gonna go get changed. Don't move."

As he put on his suit and tie, Alex looked at himself in the mirror. _Well, you didn't kill anybody, you got Jeanie's brother and you may have made child porn less popular. Not bad. Of course, since you really aren't going to kill the slot, you better hope he takes treatment and it works. Otherwise you'll add whatever evil he does to your own load of bad karma. Yeesh!_ When he stepped out of the men's room. Graham was right where he had left him thumbing through a magazine.

* * *

The flight back was uneventful, though Graham seemed to have made friends with one of the flight stewards, as the two chatted in the galley for much of the flight. Alex called ahead for Felix to have his bike brought to the airport after warning her about the security system. He was told that Goren would get it there and that Jeanie and Felix would pick up Graham. The fixer wanted all of the details as Gom had called to say that Calabrese's home had burned to the ground and that news reports were saying there were no survivors. She also wanted to express her thanks on behalf of her companion and teasingly told him that Jeanie wanted to express her thanks personally. Alex said, "Look, my part of the job's done. You make sure you do your part and we will be Jake. You don't and ...Aw, drek, I don't even want to think about that. Tell Jeanie to take care of her brother."

When the plane landed and Jeanie ran to embrace her brother, the Physical Adept slipped quietly by, boarded his bike and rode home.

* * *

Two weeks later, as Owen was preparing for an evening out with the elven beauty Sayla Starseeker, he chanced upon a news item.

 ** _ELF SHOT IN BOTCHED HOLD UP ATTEMPT_**

 _Local- Independent chip producer Graham St. James was found shot today in an alley behind the Stuffer shack at 3712 Columbia street. The 25 year old elf had been shot twice in the chest with a small caliber pistol firing explosive rounds. According to Lonestar spokesperson Ken Rhoden, The thief didn't take the victim's credstick, although he or she did take the groceries and some coins. We assume that Mr. St. James was scouting locations for his next production, as this neighborhood can be pretty tough for someone who is unfamiliar with it._

When he read about the explosive bullets and the location, he wondered if Falcon was involved. Could the Walther that Owen had given the kid have been the pistol that took Graham's life? Had the counseling failed? Had Graham tried something with a kid in the alley and been killed for his trouble? The possibilities made him feel incredibly guilty. Owen knew he should call Felix and Jeanie with his condolences when his eye caught another news brief

 ** _JOINT EFFORT AGAINST CHILD PORNOGRAPHY_**

 _Newark NJ- In an unprecedented move the Vailsburg Chapter of the Knights of Columbus and Honjowara-gumi Protective Society today announced the formation of the Alex O'Hara Center for the Treatment of Child-Sex offenders. Most Child sex offenders were the victims of abuse themselves said Paul Lucchese, a founder of the group. We have to break the cycle of abuse by treating the root cause of the problem, and so our mandate addresses the elimination of Child Pornography and counseling for those who are drawn to that material. We are committed to protecting our children from being viewed as sex objects. Co-Founder Jiro Tano added This joint effort is indicative of the fact that we cannot address this problem piecemeal. All of the community must work together to eliminate this threat to our children. We owe them a safe environment to grow up in and that debt will not be ignored._

Owen re-read the piece and with a nod and a small smile of satisfaction went to meet his date.

END TRANS


End file.
